Dad at the end of the PCT
It’s hard to believe it’s finally over, but today at 11:50am, my dad (aka Tartan) reached mile 2660 of the Pacific Crest Trail (aka the PCT, the Crest Trail, or just, “The Trail”) after 144 days. He was projecting it would take him about 150 days, or 5 months to complete, at an average pace of about 17.75 miles/day. At 144 days, his average pace was just under 18.5 miles/day. Of course that includes a number of zero and “nero” days, necessary in order to resupply somewhere off-trail. When he was really moving, usually hiking from about 6am to 5pm every day, his normal daily mileage was more like 20-21 miles/day.
A few days ago, my sister flew to Vancouver and then drove to Manning Park so she could meet him at Monument 78—the official end of the PCT. That entailed an 8.6-mile hike to the US-Canada border, and since they were not planning on camping, they hiked the same 8.6 miles together, back to Manning Park. The first time I hiked more than 17 miles in a single day was earlier this year, with Dad on the PCT, so this was no small feat for Katie. Way to go!
Here’s is a photo he took of himself at the end:
Congratulations Dad!
Hi, I just discovered your blog via your photo of the National Parks posters you hung in your place. I very much enjoyed reading about your travels, especially your time on the container ship. I’m a web developer who does a lot of photography — we have a lot in common.
My wife and I lived in SF until we quit our jobs in 2012 and thru hiked the PCT. We blogged the whole hike at wanderingthewild.com — take a look if you get a chance. How cool that you were both able to hike with your dad. Congratulations to him!
GREAT respect Mr. Watt !!!..hope to read more about this challange !
Thanks. We all had a memorable summer together for which I am very thankful. It was an adventure of a lifetime. Now it’s time to dust off the rocker and sit on the porch watching life go by.
Chris, I just wanted to say thanks for stopping by, so glad you enjoyed the posts about some of my adventures. I skimmed your site (all the way back to the beginning)—your PCT trek with North Star is very inspiring!
Hi, it was great meeting Tartan on the PCT, and also Katie at the monument where she was waiting for him.
Tartan gave us a couple of dinners at Hart’s Pass that were incredible morale boosters for us! Give our thanks to the cook.
NTA and Snake Lady